Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Empty Bowls: filling an important need in the community
With food insecurity still an issue in Northwest Arkansas, we are grateful for people and organizations who work year-long to address the needs of the hungry. One such organization is Empty Bowls.
In June of 2019, local potter David Johnson, inspired by the Empty Bowls worldwide effort, convinced some other pottery artisans to help in creating bowls to raise funds to help the food insecure in Northwest Arkansas.
“I was involved with The Clay Studio at Wishing Spring in Bella Vista,” said Phillip Calkins, one of three directors of Benton County Empty Bowls. “Dave Johnson was one of the teachers there and he’s also the owner and operator of Bear Hollow Pottery in Pineville. Back in the summer of 2019 he asked me if I’d like to get involved. He knew I was into pottery but was also aware of my background as a CPA. He needed someone to help him out with filing, taxes and other functions regarding a nonprofit he wanted to launch.”
With Calkins’ help, Benton County Empty Bowls 501(c)(3) charitable organization was formed in 2019. The new organization worked with local potters and other volunteers to create and sell just under 500 bowls in 2019. “We raised and passed on to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank $10,030.12,” he said. “Not too bad for our first year.”
Fast forward to 2021, they raised over $20,000, doubling their results from 2019. “We are not just a once-a-year soup event which is what most of the Empty Bowl organizations are,” Calkins explained. “We are the only Empty Bowls in the country that is successfully operating a website. We are shipping bowls all over the country. We have bowls on display year-round at the Wishing Springs gallery and other locations.”
Benton County Empty Bowls is open for business on their website every day of the year, and for a good reason.
“Hunger happens 365 days a year, you know,” Calkins pointed out. “So, we feel the need to be more than just a few events every year. We now have scheduled three events per year, where we sell bowls, besides being at the Bella Vista Farmers Market every Sunday. We have a spring picnic, an ice cream event in the summer and the soup event in the fall. We have ten potters involved but we are always looking for more. We could also use more volunteers.”
Empty Bowls passes on the bowl sales proceeds to the food banks, pantries and food trucks in a six county region in Northwest Arkansas. Benton County Empty Bowls determines how much each organization gets based on how many food insecure children there are in the scope of their service. As of today, total sales since starting the effort total more than $50,000 and they have sold more than 2,200 bowls.
Though many people may not realize it, grave disparities that exist in our own communities. People face hunger in every county, every congressional district in Arkansas. According to Feeding America, one in six people, one in five children, face hunger in Arkansas.
“Even in Benton County where you certainly have some rich people,” Calkins noted. “We still have some 33,000 food insecure children living here.”
Benton County Empty Bowls is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Any and all donations are tax deductible.
“We are strictly a volunteer organization, no one draws a salary,” Calkins said. “Administrative expenses are covered through voluntary donations, not bowl sales. 100% of the gross profit from bowl sales are passed on to other organizations.”
Benton County Empty Bowls currently has three directors: Dave Johnson, Carla Wright, and Calkins, who also functions as the chief financial officer. “Dave’s kind of in charge of pottery production and I’m in charge of the rest,” Calkins noted. “I’ve really thrown myself into it. It gives me a real sense of purpose. I’m making a difference in a child’s life who could grow up to cure Alzheimer’s.”
Benton County Empty Bowls’ important work shows no sign of slowing down. “We are ever expanding,” Calkins said. “Our first bowl sale was October 17, 2019. And since then we’ve sold more than 2,200 bowls. I’m keepin’ those potters pretty busy.”